2016 Candidate Endorsements

2016 Housing Action Fund Endorsements

The Housing Action Fund endorses and supports candidates who are passionate about ensuring an affordable home for all Washington residents and committed to advancing the housing and services solutions that can get us there. Additionally, we endorse initiative campaigns which further these same values. All endorsements are voted on by our board of directors.

Below you will find our endorsements for statewide office, and for the State Legislature. Each legislative candidate was asked to provide a 150 word statement about what they would do to ensure that everyone in Washington has access to a safe, healthy, affordable home. Read their answers below, and click on their picture to learn more about their campaign.

I will continue to be a leading advocate for the Housing Trust Fund. I will also fight for legislation to help prevent homelessness, such as Housing First policies, making surplus publicly-owned land available for affordable housing projects, and addressing the income inequality which makes it so difficult for many hardworking people to find affordable housing.

If re-elected to serve the 3rd Legislative District as your State Senator, I will continue to address the issue of income inequality by advocating for policies that champion and value all workers and our living wage job-creators. I will work hard to prevent discrimination in housing including prohibiting housing discrimination based on source of income. Finally, I will continue to work to improve educational opportunities so that every child can receive a world-class education and not continue to allow race, family income, and zip code to be the determining factors in educational success.

Housing should be a right in this country - not a privilege. If re-elected, I will continue to champion the right of everyone to a safe, healthy, affordable place to call home. I will do this by fighting for policies that would address Source of Income Discrimination and promote fairness in evictions and tenant screenings. I will continue to advocate for increased funding for the Housing Trust Fund and other initiatives to make housing more affordable.

Over the course of my 13 years in the Washington State House, I have developed a strong record of housing advocacy and solutions for homeless individuals and families. I believe that housing and nutrition are the two key issues for healthy families, and I will continue to work to fund important programs that prioritize these.

During my four years in Olympia, I have been a champion of the Housing Trust Fund in the capital budget. I am pleased with the funding levels we were able to secure during difficult budget years, and promise to fight for this fund in the future.

I'm running to represent my community in the State Legislature. I believe access to housing is a right. I'm a teacher, small businessman, husband, and father of two. I know we need strong leadership in Olympia that values progress, not partisanship. The next session will be focused on public schools. We need a legislator who’s been in the classroom and the boardroom ensuring excellent public schools, expanded job creation and transportation improvements to get our region moving again. Access to housing cannot be left behind in these education negotiations.

If elected, we need to look aggressively at the policies we have in place for development and what kind of housing is acceptable. We need to get creative about how we go about building and developing housing to responsibly accommodate population growth at all income levels. We need to welcome urban development and growth while still prioritizing the needs of the folks who already live in our communities and are struggling. I am committed to being that kind of leader.

I will uphold and fight to retain the Growth Management Act and particularly the Affordable Housing Element that requires affordable housing zoning and prevents brownfield and industrial zoning in areas that disproportionately impact the poor.
As a county commissioner I fought for the Affordable Housing Element of the Comprehensive Plan and radically overhauled the indigent veterans program that resulted in an increase from 5 to 100 veterans served, included housing and utility assistance. I fought to remove roadblocks associated with rental agreements that made it difficult for tenants to qualify for housing. I will not support riders that sweep money from the HTF into other programs. I will continue to connect with my constituents and will work to support legislation that provides tangible help to low income and vulnerable citizens.

Housing is a human right, a fundamental need that civilized society must meet. How we meet that need is also important. Gentrification and the cost of housing near where the jobs are is threatening the diversity of our communities. Obviously, financing is a key barrier. In that regard, I propose we create a publicly owned state bank that could create sufficient capacity to fund housing and other needed infrastructure. It is much wiser to keep our tax revenues local, working for Washington state rather than allowing it to be used as a profit tool for Wall Street from which we see no benefit. Please contact me at Bob.Hasegawa@leg.wa.gov if you’d like me to give a presentation to your organization to talk about this proposal. Also, I hope you’ll consider Candidate for State Treasurer John Comerford, who is extremely well qualified and supports creating a state bank for Washington state.

It is critical in our Eastern Washington communities throughout Chelan, Douglas, Grant, and Okanogan Counties that we continue to have housing options available to all income levels that is safe, affordable, and accessible. Grant options for such housing should continue to be made available through the Housing Trust Fund and the Office of Rural and Farm Worker Housing.

I stand for uniting our people and building the middle class! All jobs have dignity, and people who work full time should be able to support their families. We can keep our businesses strong and make sure a rising tide lifts all boats. Let’s grow the middle class, increase the customer base for our businesses, keep our businesses growing, and respect basic human dignity. Raise the minimum wage. Unity means looking out for one another. It’s what responsible adults do, and it shouldn’t be politicized. Churches and charities see these problems up close, and they are the first to say we need everyone working together on this, because the scale of the problem is so big. Programs that help the elderly, poor, and disabled should be strongly supported and transparently accountable for results, and those who can move up through work should be expected to do so.

Housing and homelessness is at a crisis level in the 19th Legislative District. I will work across sectors of federal, state, and local governments; nonprofits, and the private sector to fight for increased investment and support for quality housing and addressing homelessness. Because of my experience working with the Association of Washington Housing Authorities and Housing Opportunities of SW Washington (formerly Longview Housing Authority) I bring a unique understanding of the issues and opportunities as an advocate for housing.

I have taken a leadership role on many issues around affordable housing, including prime sponsorship of HB1605 where I brought housing advocates and fire services together to reduce tax burdens (fire benefit charges) on affordable housing. Unfortunately, the bill died in the Senate. This is just an example of the time and effort I will put into, what I believe, is the most immediate need in our community. I have also been a leader in addressing the opioid crisis and mental health needs in our communities which has a direct correlation to those living on the edge of homelessness.

This past year we were able to get some money allocated for homeless youth, it will provide homeless liaisons to link youth with housing. There is still more to do. We need to fund transitional programs; farm worker housing; shelters for men, women and families and more importantly find stable, permanent affordable housing for individuals and families. We need to increase funding for the Housing Trust Fund. I am committed to continue to work towards this end. Unstable housing affects; health, education, workforce, and our economy. It behooves us all to invest in affordable housing in all our communities.

I will work to end discrimination by landlords, including requiring expensive background checks and their refusal to rent to Section 8 voucher holders. All Washingtonions should be able to have a fair chance at finding an affordable home! Continuing to increase funding for the Housing Trust Fund is also critical. This helps meet the needs of low-income people by building affordable homes across the state. Last week, the City of Olympia, in partnership with the Low Income Housing Institute and many other funders, broke ground on the Billy Frank Jr. Place which will offer 43 affordable apartments in downtown Olympia. This is an excellent example of the “fix” for homelessness. At SideWalk, we offer shelter diversion and rapid rehousing, often getting homeless people into homes within a week. Once people have a home, it is inspiring how many of them can get a job and turn their live’s around.

Housing is a top issue for me and something I intend to work on as a legislator. I volunteered one night a month in an overflow shelter in a church basement in Seattle for several years. I recognize the importance of shelters, but it is clear to me that shelters are not a launching pad from which to put your life back together if you are homeless. I have spent considerable time meeting with housing advocates in the 22nd LD and learning about funding, challenges, and opportunities while building relationships with those on the front lines of providing these services in our community. I hope that we will partner to organize and make smart strategic change together to provide housing for all.

One of my priorities has always been addressing homelessness; making sure homeless have a place to live. I’m also committed to families finding secure housing by raising the minimum wage and creating more jobs.

I've consistently been an advocate for opportunities for affordable housing, whether directly through the Housing Trust Fund or indirectly through my support of bans on source-of-income discrimination in housing.

I am a 4-term Clallam County Commissioner running for the State House of Representatives to be a passionate advocate for those who need it most: the disadvantaged, the poor, the sick, the unemployed, the veterans who so bravely served our country, those struggling with mental illness and substance addiction, and everyone else facing tough times. I was raised in a family devastated by alcoholism, drug addiction, and poverty by my single mom after my dad died. I grew up dirt poor, struggling to become the first member of my family to go to college. My wife and I have worked hard to provide better opportunities for our kids than we had. Because of my background, I know how hard life can be, so I’m basing my campaign around creating more opportunities and support for the communities, families, and businesses of the Olympic Peninsula.

1. Help to pass new tax incentives for affordable housing such as the one proposed by Sen. Joe Fain and Rep. Noel Frame in 2016.
2. Build on the compromise effort to pass a portable tenant screening bill in 2016 by seeking areas of bipartisan, cross-interest collaboration
3. Seek to serve on the Senate Human Services, Mental Health and Housing Committee so that I can be in the room to craft good policy to maximize opportunities for all Washingtonians.

In my 30 year career as a nonprofit leader and legislator, I have fought to provide housing to the homeless and those at risk of homelessness, providing leadership on funding strategies like the document recording fee, and policy considerations that expand access to housing. Housing issues will always be one of my highest priorities.

My values are entirely about creating a fair and just society. The government should help provide options for low-income residents in order to help keep the young, seniors, the vulnerable and disenfranchised in housing so that they have stability and can work towards improving their own lives. I have earned a reputation as a principled, collaborative, and thoughtful advocate willing to take on tough issues and get results. I will return next year to continue to solve challenging problems, especially revenue reform so the state can afford to increase its investment in affordable housing. I consistently fight to assure that funding for the Housing Trust Fund be a significant element of the capital budget and support increasing it. I am interested in helping to create trust funds on the local level. As Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, I worked in conjunction with many other members to assure we finally passed a fair tenant screening process last session and also fixed the inappropriate use of eviction histories to exclude people from housing. It has been an honor to serve Tacoma as State Representative.

Affordable housing is a growing issue across Washington state and in my district, in particular. As a career Army officer and wife of a veteran, I know how important it is to ensure access to stable, affordable housing for everyone in our community - especially those who have served our country. I will work to ensure we prioritize investments in the Housing Trust Fund and programs that help those most in need get access to the housing they deserve.

I will continue fighting to ensure that working families stay ahead and have access to a safe, affordable and nurturing home to call their own. With Washington state facing a well-documented homelessness crisis, we must establish an extensive and comprehensive system that is available for those who need access to a safe home and a consistent living space. I fought for increased affordable housing funding including more resources for the Housing Trust Fund. As a state, we have a lot more work to do and we need strong advocates to ensure all families can enjoy safe, affordable, and high quality housing options.

Especially in the richest country on earth, any person who is willing to work hard should not be living in poverty. We must ensure we have an economy that works for everyone and not just the wealthy few.

Experience and seniority matter in the House of Representatives, and I have an abundance of both. I have the ear of the Speaker, I know all the players without a program, and I am the longest serving member of the House Judiciary Committee where many of your bills reside. I have a history of working with your lobbyists and I’ve demonstrated a willingness to use my influence to ensure that your efforts are successful whenever possible.

I live in a community that has seen a 150% increase in homelessness in the last year. We have growing challenges where families and the elderly are being financially squeezed out of their homes, despite families working harder and harder. We need to make sure that policies in Olympia better compensate workers, through increases to the minimum wage, and do not turn a blind eye to the needs of our most vulnerable. My opponent has sided with corporate interests and payday lenders, and opposed minimum wage increases and consumer protections for renters. As chair of the Equal Justice Coalition and now with my work with the Federal Way Human Services Commission, I have been an advocate for some of the most vulnerable among us. As a representative, I will continue to fight for safe, healthy, and accessible homes for all Washingtonians.

I grew up picking berries, typing, and working in nursing homes for college expenses. My priorities are to fully fund public education, ensure safety of our communities, and protect our privacy, the environment, and consumers from predatory lenders. I will work hard to help our state and communities build classrooms, attract well-qualified teachers, and provide affordable housing for our working families while fixing aging bridges, highways and roads.

I will continue to co-sponsor or sponsor legislation that intentionally supports affordable, healthy, and safe housing. I will also work on legislation that supports all of the services that are needed in a community that is necessary to thrive where the resident chooses to live, work, and play. I will support capital dollars to go directly towards these efforts.

Housing affordability has become more and more out of reach for too many in our communities. In my time representing you, I have worked to advance solutions, including expanding the document recording fee to fund emergency housing services and allowing King County to use existing revenue streams to build more permanent affordable housing. However it is clear that our efforts are not keeping pace with the need. In the next session we need to authorize a tax credit to help preserve existing affordable housing, to allow more construction of affordable homes in areas that are well-served by transit, and to encourage local governments to lift restrictions that add cost to housing construction. Long-term solutions to housing affordability require the state to raise revenue so we can invest more in construction affordable housing.

There is very little affordable housing, especially in Mason County. I would support legislation that would develop and fund housing units that lower income and the homeless can live in. I have toured many facilities in all 3 counties of the 35th along with speaking to Habitat for Humanity and shelters. It is a chronic problem in our area.

We need to identify who is homeless and what brought that circumstance into their lives. We also need to encourage our schools to work with us to help identify those without a home. Once we know we can get to work. I am in favor of tiny houses and giving our homeless a hand up. Other states have found success in providing homes over vouchers and there is a cost savings in that as well. I am working on getting ordinances approved for the tiny homes and also working to restore derelict housing so that it can be habitable. We have made a lot of progress this session for homeless vets in Mason County and I am working to expand that.

As a firefighter I see all too often those that have been left behind in our community. Children, the vulnerable and the elderly being forced out of their homes because of a lack of affordability and very little recourse for them to take due to a decrease of housing opportunities. We have also seen an increase in low income housing being scuttled to make way for high end condominiums. As a legislator one of my top priorities would be to expand affordable housing opportunities through the Housing Trust Fund to everyone regardless of class, race, gender, and sexual orientation along with encouraging development of housing through tax incentives. We have a duty as a community to protect those who cannot protect themselves. I will fight every day as a giving a voice to those who feel they don't have one.

As an elected official, I will do my part to perpetuate what I believe to be true: that a safe, healthy, and affordable place to call home is a human right. By focusing the narrative around what is fact - that having a reliable roof over your head is a critical element to success in all other parts of life - I hope to bring the funding and good policy necessary to deliver on this promise.

I will keep fighting for increases in the minimum wage and TANF cash assistance programs for the poor and low-income residents, as well as for living-wage jobs that support our middle class, so they can buy homes. I will continue to fight for the capital budget to allocate resources to the Housing Trust Fund, low-income housing investments, and support to shelters and transitional housing, as I have done for Aloha Inn and the Millionair Club’s Kabota Apartments in Belltown.
My first piece of legislation, the Safe Keys Act, changed the Landlord-Tenant Act to require landlords to exercise reasonable care in protecting master keys to keep tenants safe in their apartments.
Healthy homes must be free of toxins and pollutants and have clean water coming through the pipes. I have co-sponsored and will continue to advocate for legislation that protects consumers from products that, quite literally, will make them ill.

This is a high-stakes values election. I support Community; a healthy, safe place where children have the best education we can provide, where we support family wage jobs and opportunities for all. I support ongoing efforts mandated by our state’s Homelessness Housing and Assistance Act. And there are efforts for Commerce's programs to be more efficient and effective. But the real focus has to be income inequality and the rise in prices with the accompanying failure of incomes to keep pace. I will continue to develop the economy and push for the upward mobility of the bottom 20% of households.

The epidemic of homelessness affects too many in Washington state, including 35,000 students in K-12 who are homeless, plus thousands more younger than 5. We must work to connect families with services and housing resources they need to find housing and remain near their school communities. Affordable housing goes beyond homelessness. The great distances parents often must travel between work and affordable neighborhoods adds to traffic congestion, stress, environmental issues and time away from family. We must support the Housing Trust Fund, mass transit, affordable housing incentives, and more to ensure our region has economic diversity and works for everyone.

I will work for sound policy and funding for safe, affordable, healthy housing that is based on solutions that are supported by the people themselves. It is essential to invest in low and middle income housing and work with local communities to ensure a range of housing options are available. I believe it is important to ensure affordable housing includes green energy and efficiencies to keep utility costs low while protecting our environment. I would also support multi-sector solutions with government, nonprofit agencies and businesses to ensure cities and towns maintain affordable housing options that meet the needs of ALL citizens, especially underserved communities. Having a home is a basic need and essential to the vitality of individuals and families to move from surviving to thriving.

Everyone should have the opportunity to live in a safe, affordable home and a community that thrives. My partner, Deb, and I see every day how our city’s incredible growth is leaving many behind. I have brought innovative and pragmatic solutions to our state’s toughest challenges related to housing, mental health, and public safety. I helped pioneer the Housing First approach, offering people a place to live and surrounding them with the support they need to keep that home, and make it national policy in addressing homelessness. As a legislator, I will be a leader in protecting and expanding state investments in affordable housing, primary and mental healthcare, income supports and services for low-income and disabled people, and in enacting laws that protect renters from discrimination and displacement.

I know the importance of having a safe, healthy, and affordable home. I grew up in a poor, rural Louisiana house that didn't have running water or electricity until the 1970s. I want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to work together to make sure that Washingtonians have a roof over their head and can afford to live and work in our great community. The legislature needs to be accountable for taking care of those who have the least. I will do my utmost to make sure we are keeping that promise.

Having worked on affordable housing initiatives as Executive Vice President of United Way of Snohomish County, I know that housing is a serious issue for many individuals and families living in our district. I am committed to continuing the work I have done at United Way by partnering with experts, local community members, and other legislators to ensure that all people living in our district and in this state have access to safe, healthy, and affordable homes. I adamantly believe that affordable homes meeting the needs of their occupants are foundational for individuals looking to improve their lives, and the lives of their families.

A humane society should ensure at least that everyone has a roof over their bed at night. Our homelessness crisis here, amidst the most booming economy in all of North America, is a disgrace. I will continue to stand up and speak for more compassionate and just policies to care for our most vulnerable, including more public funding to address the crisis of homelessness. The Puget Sound region is squeezing out hard working families and the economically disadvantaged from affordable housing. No ecosystem can thrive without diversity; and without economic diversity in the Puget Sound’s social “ecosystem” we threaten the stability of the whole region. I will continue to fight for state measures to guarantee a share of affordable housing, especially in transit-oriented developments.

Washington state faces a wrenching loss of affordable housing coupled with growing income inequality, which increases housing insecurity. I will continue to work to provide state funding to build truly affordable housing (preserving and increasing the Housing Trust Fund and REET); and, require that developments include affordable housing, verify that landlords who receive tax exemptions and zoning incentives provide truly affordable housing (60% MFI), and accept Section 8 housing vouchers. I will continue to speak out and work to ensure that we provide social and health services when Seattle (or other cities) seek to "sweep" clear homeless encampments. We need to provide social and health services in our housing programs, and adopt programs to provide stable housing for public school students in the neighborhood of their schools. Our regressive tax system increases income inequality and housing insecurity. It deprives us of the funding needed to provide housing and education.

The solution to providing safe, healthy, and affordable housing involves building broad coalitions from people in all sectors with a stake in housing, namely tenants and housing providers. I believe in a comprehensive approaching to crafting legislation. This means I will work across the aisle and with any vested group to craft policy that would advance a solution to help create more affordable housing and ensure safeguards for tenants. Furthermore, I intend to speak out and work with local and municipal governments so that the state and cities can coordinate efforts to establish more solutions for the neediest residents.

The state needs to partner with local governments and housing organizations to ensure there is a wide variety of housing options to serve their communities. Investments in the Housing Trust Fund as well as incentives to build low income housing are two ways to accomplish that goal. The state also needs to continue and expand programs to end homelessness, especially for homeless youth.

I will begin tackling the issue of affordable housing by making sure that the existing legislation we have in Washington state is fully enforced and funded, specifically including the Housing Trust Fund. As a discrimination attorney, I view housing as a right and will advocate for legislation that removes barriers to safe, secure, and affordable homes. In this past session, I voted in favor of several bills to ensure an opportunity to live in a safe, healthy, affordable home, including HB 1565 which would prohibit Source of Income Discrimination in housing both in the Judiciary Committee and on the House floor, where it passed. While it did not make it out of the Senate, I will continue to advocate for it until it is passed.

I will work to find new funding sources for affordable housing with special focus on local options. I want to also concentrate on sheltering especially housing first programs. We need to agree that homelessness is intolerable and everyone has a right to housing.

Clark County, like much of our state, is experiencing a housing crisis. With a vacancy rate below 2% and the fastest rising rents in the U.S., this affects everyone, especially our most vulnerable – seniors, Veterans, the disabled, and the working poor. As a City Councilor, I led efforts to increase Vancouver’s affordable housing by championing three new city ordinances to protect vulnerable renters: Giving people who pay their rent on time and follow all the rules more time to find new housing, providing more time before a rent increase of 10% can be implemented, and making it illegal to discriminate based on source of income. I am now working on an affordable housing levy as well as other local solutions. I will bring the same passion and innovation to the state legislature that I brought to the city of Vancouver and work to protect all vulnerable individuals and families.

About Us

The Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund educates voters, promotes smart public policy, and supports candidates who share our vision that all Washington residents have the opportunity to live in safe, healthy, affordable homes, in thriving communities.